IBN Lokmat Q1 narrows net loss to Rs 40 mn

Marathi news channel IBN Lokmat has narrowed its first-quarter net loss to Rs 40 million as revenue jumps over the earlier-year period.

A joint venture
between IBN18 and Lokmat Group, IBN Lokmat had kicked in losses of Rs 70 million in the year-ago period.

Income from operations jumped 194 per cent to Rs 40 million, from Rs 10 million in the first quarter of FY’10.

Revenue, however, has dropped from the trailing quarter which had seen an income of Rs 50 million.

Operating loss (Ebitda) dropped to Rs 30 million, from Rs 60 million in the prior year. However, it was higher than Rs 20 million posted in the trailing quarter.

IBN Lokmat’s expenses remained flat at Rs 70 million, indicating that costs had more or less stabilised.

FIFA World Cup Mania on CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN Lokmat

CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN Lokmat have lined up an exciting programming line-up to capture the latest happenings and the action from the football field during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The special programming A Beautiful Game on CNN-IBN and Goal on IBN7 will provide a 360 degree perspective of the tournament. A panel of experts will add their analytical perspective to the game through special preview and review shows of each match played and an indepth examination of the players’ performance in the tournament. The experts include renowned former Moroccan football player and India’s No.1 football coach, Karim Bencherifa and the country’s top football analyst and commentator Novy Kapadia. They will provide the viewers with all the vital highlights and analysis of the matches and cover all aspects of FIFA World Cup 2010.

On IBN Lokmat, the special programming Kick Football Chi with Sunandan Lele, Consultant Editor, IBN Lokmat will consist of daily bulletins focusing on match reviews and previews. While the morning bulletins will focus on reviewing the matches which have been played, the evening bulletin will examine the various teams’ preparations for the matches ahead.

During the tournament, CNN-IBN and IBN7 will take a comprehensive look at the entire tournament with match reviews and previews, profiles, in-depth analysis and panel discussions. While on IBN7, Senior Anchor Darain Shahidi will be seen in conversation with Novy Kapadia who will provide viewers with rare insights into the game; on CNN-IBN, host Sanjeeb Mukherjea along with Novy Kapadia, Karim Bencherifa and some of the celebrity football fans will discuss the teams’ performances and strategies for the important matches. The special programming on the channels will go on-air as per the following schedule

On CNN-IBN, there will be a special one hour show focusing on who could win the FIFA World Cup at 7:00PM (with repeat telecast at 10:00 pm) on 10 June. The programming will also include a one and half hour special on 11 June at 6.00 pm. This interactive programme will lead up to the kick off of the FIFA World Cup 2010 at 7:30 PM IST and will bring live feeds from CNN-IBN correspondents across the country as they interact with soccer fans in the build up to the inauguration of the tournament. Additionally the programme will also feature reactions from football fans across the globe as they prepare to launch themselves into FIFA Fever. The daily programming will be telecast at 7.30 am, 7.30 pm and 10.30 pm till the tournament ends.

On IBN7, daily programming will be telecast at 8 am and 6.30 pm throughout the tournament and on IBN Lokmat, the programming will go on air at 7.30 am (with a repeat at 11.30 am) and 6.30 pm during the length of the tournament.